Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Mince Pie Rings

Pastry purists look away now! For this recipe I used ready made, ready rolled puff pastry *gasp*. If you want delicious mince pies with a bit of a twist, then give these simple mince pie rings a go. They're quick and easy so you can whip some up in no time, and they provide a bit of alternative to the standard mince pie. The puff pastry also gives you a lovely satisfying crunch as you bite into it...

500g all-butter puff pastry

Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon, finely grated

30g ground almonds

12 tbsp mincemeat

Milk to brush

3 tbsp icing sugar

1/2 gold lustre dust or Dr.Oetker's Gold Shimmer Spray

Heat the oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6. Roll out the puff pastry in to a rectangle and then slice in to 12 7cm x 23cm strips. Zest the orange and lemon and then sprinkle both over the pastry along with the ground almonds. Leaving a 1cm border, spread a tablespoon of mincemeat down each strip of pastry. Using a pastry brush, brush milk down one of the long sides of each mince pie ring before folding the other side over to meet it. Thoroughly seal the edge by pressing down firmly.

Brush the end of each tube with milk and then pinch one end before inserting it in to the other open end to form a ring. Gently, move the rings on to a baking sheet with baking parchment. Finally, brush again with milk and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. When cool, mix the icing with a small amount of water to make a drizzling consistency. Then use either a teaspoon or a piping bag to drizzle over the mince pie rings. The finishing touch is a dusting of gold lustre or alternatively use Dr. Oetker's Gold Shimmer Spray... and you end up with festive gold rings!

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A keen baker who has also recently become obsessed with cake decoration! After buying yet another cookbook I realised that maybe I spend more time reading about cakes and not enough time baking them... this blog is therefore my attempt to rectify this!